MR42HH said:
Isn't the R on the same chassis as the ML and GL?
Nope.
There are two ML vehicles, first and second gen. The first gen is a full framed "truck" and is its own platform.
The second gen ML and the GL are unibody, with some beefier unibody rails similar to other unitized trucks like the Highlander, Harrier, Grand Cherokee, Voyager, VW T4/T5, Pathfinder, etc.
The R is pretty much a car with a raised roof. They are not
exactly the same underneath as the E, but pretty close. The front section stamping (firewall, tunnel, side rails) is almost identical to the E. The center floorpan is a little different, and has some stronger cross supports and whatnot to accomodate the flat floorpan on the inside without bending in the middle.
Both the E and R use a pretty conventional MB coil spring front strut suspension, with the long knuckle and upper and lower control arms.
The ML uses a big beefy SLA front suspension with a squat knuckle and a torsion spring running back towards the center of the body. The ML's front suspension is pretty much identical to what many pickup trucks use.
The E and R use a multi-link rear suspension, however the R uses a single piece lower control arm whereas the E has a full 8-link setup (with 2 lower links on each side). Their rear subframe is almost identical. They both have a small sway bar angled towards the front.
The ML's rear suspension is a much simpler stouter design with less parts and they are all bigger. It also has a different spring design and a massive rear mounted sway bar.
I have been underneath all of them, but it has been a few months so my memory may be a little fuzzy on the details.
